Harsh winter disaster affects Mongolian herders
Around 150,000 herders in the northern part of Mongolia are at risk of losing their animals and livelihoods this winter as officials prepare to scale the dzud disaster risk up to an emergency.
Harsh winter disaster affects Mongolian herders. Around 150,000 herders in the northern part of Mongolia are at risk of losing their animals and livelihoods this winter as officials prepare to scale the dzud disaster risk up to an emergency. As temperatures plummeted to below -40 degrees Celsius in northern Mongolia and -56 in the West in recent weeks, the national State Emergency Commission dispatched authorities and aid groups to conduct risk assessments across the country. A total of 110 sub-provinces in 13 provinces were identified as “at risk”. The assessments found some 150,000 herders lived in the affected areas and around 16,000 households with seven million livestock must move to new pastures immediately. This year’s dzud is expected to impact northern and eastern part Mongolia. The most vulnerable are the 2,500 pregnant women, 26,000 children and 8,000 elderly people living in winter pastures. A dzud is an extreme weather phenomenon unique to Mongolia that occurs when a large number of animals have died, which is likely to be around March next year. A third of Mongolia’s population relies directly on livestock as their primary source of food and income.
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